Railways Ministry Refutes Claims of Rejecting Japanese Bullet Train Technology as 'Fake News'

The Ministry of Railways has strongly refuted recent newspaper reports and social media reports stating that India has ruled out the use of Japanese bullet train technology for the high-speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The Ministry says that these are unsubstantiated and misleading reports.

Releasing a fact check on what it termed as "fake news," the Ministry confirmed no decision has been made to drop Japanese Shinkansen technology for the corridor.

"Certain articles and social media updates are stating that the Ministry of Railways has resolved not to operate the Japanese bullet train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. This is false! There has been no decision like that taken by the Railway Ministry," the official release stated.

Renewing its pledge towards Indo-Japanese cooperation, the Ministry revealed that Japan will use the next-generation E10 Shinkansen trains for the ambitious venture. Interestingly, the E10 series is planned to be rolled out simultaneously in India and Japan.

Pointing to the application of Japanese technology, the Ministry stressed, "The entire 508-kilometre corridor is being developed using Japanese Shinkansen technology, setting new benchmarks in speed, safety, and reliability."

In a progress report on the construction, the Ministry recently declared completion of 310-kilometre long viaduct on the route. Construction is also in progress on other key elements like station structures, bridges, overhead electrical infrastructure, and laying of tracks. Construction work in Maharashtra, especially, has picked up pace.

The Ministry also outlined a major engineering feat—the first half of the 21-kilometre undersea tunnel between Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Thane has been opened.

Civil works are proceeding quickly along the entire alignment. Five of the 12 scheduled stations have been completed and three others are near final stages. Fifteen river bridges are complete, and four are nearing completion.

Shedding light on the extent of the engineering work, the Ministry said, "The BKC station is an engineering wonder. The station will be 32.5 m below the ground, and the foundation is such that there will be enough strength to build a 95-meter building over the ground."